Message Stick

Our next stop was a relatively short drive to the Aboriginal owned Kakadu National Park. It was here that we met  the ‘Prostrate Posse’, a bunch of bikers that were part of a huge group riding in convoy up through the Northern Territory fund-raising and promoting awareness of prostrate cancer. The guys sort of adopted us and forced us to drink beer with  them, swear a lot and sleep in their spare Air Conditioned room.  The tent was already pitched but the offer was too good to refuse so we had our best nights sleep since Coober Pedy. God knows we needed it as we were up at the crack of dawn  for a sunrise Yellow River Crocodile cruise. It was jam-packed with wildlife especially in the form of crocs and birds.  We apologise to any twitchers reading but we can’t remember any of the names.  All I know is that my favourite was the  tiny bird with the huge feet, look closely on the lily pad.

From one National park to another this time Litchfield. Here we trekked to amazing aboriginal rock art sites and swam in  some beautiful swimming holes beneath waterfalls . We drove past several areas of bush that were being burnt in line  with aboriginal traditions of regeneration for the land. We also came across a great deal of wildlife; the fury wallabies were most welcome, the spiders, particularly the yellowish one on our tent, were not.

It felt quite monumentous to finally arrive in Darwin - our final destination on this epic drive. As a treat for  slumming it in the tent we got a cheapy deal at a posh hotel and lived it up for a few nights. The Australia version  of Travelodge was quite different to the one hidden behind the petrol station on the A444. Here we had a swanky room,  cable and two different swimming pools to chose between. Our camping gear had served us well, however would not be needed in Indonesia; our next destination and the land of dirt-cheap accommodation. Fear not though the gear went to a good  home, as we donated it to charity mate, for the next larrikins that plan to tackle the explorer’s way!